You can get boric acid at the pharmacy and sprinkle it around to kill the cockroaches -- it is the primary ingredient in many insecticides in the USA. You won't be harmed by the boric acid but it dries out the insects and they die.

My insect bombs contain Permethrin and Fenoxycarb. They kill roaches, fleas, spiders, silverfish, moths, carpet beetles and ants. $5 a can from the supermarket and they coat the whole inside of the boat with the stuff, which works for three months minimum.

Really not so inconvenient, just set them off and go away for the day. Oh, and leave a towel laying over food preparation areas first ...

Glad you are back on board. Sounds like it might
be worth staying for a while and get things together

Hey Steve, good to see you again. Yep, time to get serious about sailing or give it away. I bought my first yacht in May 2011 (yep, that's over 4 years ago) and still haven't moved either of them off their moorings.

Supply run done, got a shower on the way. I now have SS screws to mount the winches, a new all-round white light (installed), a new water pump (job for tomorrow) and a new hammer drill to replace the one that I took to NZ last year. With the 54mm holesaw I also bought, I can fit the water bladder filler properly.

Picked up a new pair of thongs/flipflops/jandals (select one) and a pair of new pillows with cases. Filled one water bottle and will do the other when I empty the porta-potti tomorrow. Got some more demineralized water for the batteries. There were dead roaches all over the sole when I got back, no more creepy-crawlies living here now.

The best part of the trip was finding a cooked chicken on special at the supermarket for $5.00 - heavenly!!

So there goes this week's income, the best part of half-a-boatbuck spent inside of 2 hours.

Today I have running water again. I can see why my cousin Nicky decided to give up plumbing, it has to be the worst job in the world. Thoroughly convinced that I had a faulty unit, I was ready to take it back for replacement. No matter what I did the output side leaked like a sieve at the join and I was sure the water was getting past the o-ring.

A new, wider hose clamp did the trick. The old one was fine for a worn out pump but the pressure this thing spits is phenomenal and the water was just blowing between the spigot connector and the hose, and from there all over the sole in high speed. What a steaming dog turd of a task! Anyhow, it works. Woo-hoo. :-)

Note to self: Don't ever leave the yacht without turning off power to the pump. A leak here could empty both the 100L water bladder and the battery in very short order.

I remember using Pythagoras at school to calculate the height of the flagpole. However, that required measuring the shadow length accurately, something you can't do on a yacht. Bought a 30' tape to measure the sails whilst at Bunnings too. :-)

Have no idea why sailmakers want i, j, k measurements when all they need are leech, luff and foot along with a general description, such as "genoa #2, furling, 4mm wire".

Use your mainsail halyard. Firmly tie some non stretch cord to it, haul it up till the knot hits the sheave box, tighten, pull it back to the sheave (do this a few times but don't go Arnie on it) mark it at the boom, pull it down, measure the cord and **PRESTO**; luff length.
Cheers.

__________________
"if at first you don't succeed....Redefine success"!

Math teacher: "OK class, today we're going to learn how to measure the height of the school flagpole."
Johnnie: "That's easy. I'd just tie a weight to a string, climb the flagpole, drop it down until it touches the ground then measure the string with my ruler."
Teacher: "Well, I was expecting the use of Pythagoras' Theorem. What if you were my age and couldn't climb the pole?"
Johnnie: "In that case I'd probably reminisce about when I was young enough to climb it."

Perusing the Whitworth's catalog last night I had the distinct thought that their prices were fairly reasonable, at least compared to the messing around and waiting I've been putting up with buying stuff - often substandard stuff - from China. Must be becoming a real yachtie at last, I'm no longer horrified by the costs, they just are what they are. An appreciation of how tough yacht materials need to be in order to survive has crept in along the way. Sea air is merciless.

On another tack, I've long known that the name of this yacht sucks. Thinking of changing it to Wairoa, in honour of my new home in New Zealand. Since the old name was never painted on the side there shouldn't be any trouble, for the superstitious amongst you, but I'll drink a libation to Neptune and utter the proper incantations anyhow. I'll probably change it when I do the haulout and repaint, which is planned for right after I get the damned thing to sail.

There are many rituals surrounding the change of name of a boat. The most important of these is quite simply the gathering of many friends for a barbie and a couple of beers. In times of financial drought, I have changed a name without any ceremony. At other times, I have gone the full bit, including re-stepping the mast over a new penny. There have never been any negative consequences so far as I am aware....except for the bloody hangover...

__________________
"if at first you don't succeed....Redefine success"!

Measured up my sails today and was surprised that they were a full two metres shorter than the design specifies. The good news is that the yacht won't heel much, and sails should be fairly cheap for it. The bad news I suppose is that it won't be very fast but that's a minor consideration for cruising. I'd prefer a comfortable ride any day. Good thing I measured first!